Nifty ends at 7855, Sensex slips 159points; Bharti, TCS, Infosys up

3:30 pm Market closes: The market has ended lower. The Sensex was down 159.21 points or 0.6 percent at 25678.93, and the Nifty slipped 44.25 points or 0.6 percent at 7855.05. About 1077 shares advanced, 1533 shares declined, and 146 shares were unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, TCS, Adani Ports, Bajaj Auto and Infosys were top gainers while Reliance, Maruti, Hindalco, NTPC and ONGC were losers in the Sensex.

3:10 pm Market outlook: Despite the Japanese yen appreciating, SBICAP Securities maintains its outstanding buy call on Maruti on back of recent product launches and growing market share, said Mahantesh Sabarad, Deputy-VP of SBICAP.

A big positive for Maruti would be strong fourth quarter numbers with margins of over 15 percent.

Sabarad says midcap IT companies do not offer much at this point.

With expectations of a good monsoon, fast-moving goods companies (FMCG) like Bajaj Corp and Maruti will benefit.

2:57 pm Market Update: The Sensex declined 200.03 points to 25638.11 and the Nifty fell 54.75 points to 7844.55. About 1572 shares declined against 963 advancing shares on BSE.

Hindalco (-4 percent), NTPC (-3 percent), Bank of Baroda (-3 percent) and Maruti Suzuki (-3 percent) were the big losers in the Nifty. Other laggards in the index were Sun Pharma (-2 percent), ITC (-2 percent), Axis Bank (-2 percent) and ONGC (-2 percent).

Gainers included Bharti Airtel (2 percent), Bajaj Auto (1 percent), TCS (1 percent) and BPCL (1 percent).

European shares were trading weak with Germany's DAX down 119 points or 1.1 percent at 10253, France's CAC down 40 points at 4529, and UK's FTSE down 42 points at 6268.

Key Asian markets ended on a bearish note. Singapore's Straits Times finished at the bottom of the heap, closing 47 points or 1.6 percent lower at 2893. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 162 points to 21304, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 133 points to 17439, China's Shanghai shed 12 points to 2946. Taiwan was the only exception to the bearish trend with the Taiwan Index climbing 24 points to close at 8560.

2:40 pm Earnings: UltraTech Cement's fourth quarter earnings beat analysts' expectations on all counts Monday with standalone profit rising 10.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 681.4 crore, helped by lower tax & finance cost and better operational performance.

Revenue increased 4.7 percent to Rs 6,503.66 crore in January-March quarter compared to Rs 6,211 crore in same quarter last fiscal.

Operating profit (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) rose by 3.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,352.7 crore but margin declined 30 basis points to 20.8 percent in quarter gone by.

Operational performance was supported by lower power & fuel cost that slipped 14.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,016.45 crore in Q4.

2:20 pm DBS on GST: The overall progress on the reforms front will help improve macros and a change in composition in the Rajya Sabha would facilitate passage of key Bills such as GST and bankruptcy code, DBS said in a note.

The second half of the Budget session got under way today. According to the global financial services firm, the second half will be equally important as focus returns to the crucial bankruptcy code and the Goods and Services Tax Bill.

"There were encouraging signs that the revised bankruptcy code will be tabled in Parliament mid-week and a broad consensus has been arrived," DBS said in a research note.

"The ruling government, meanwhile, does not have a majority in the Upper House, but there is speculation that the members' rotation in the second half of this year might weaken the Opposition's stronghold and tilt support in favour of the Goods and Services Tax (Bill)."

GST is a long-awaited and important piece of legislation that aims to simplify and standardise India's tax structure. The GST Bill requires an amendment to the Constitution, for which two-thirds majority is needed in each House of Parliament.

2:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks fell further in afternoon trade with the Sensex down 204.42 points to 25633.72. The Nifty struggled below 7850 level, falling 58.45 points to 7840.85.

The broader markets slipped 0.3 percent as about 1532 shares declined against 948 advancing shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Indiabulls Housing, Force Motors, Reliance Industries, M&M Financial, SBI, ICICI Bank and Infosys were the most active shares on exchanges.

1:55 pm Parliament: As the second half of the Budget session got underway, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hoped that members of all parties will discuss issues in a democratic spirit and take good decisions.

With Opposition, mainly the Congress planning to target the government over imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand, Modi hoped that members will involve themselves in free discussions like the last time and important decisions will be taken.

He noted that the the first part of the Budget session was very productive and several important legislations were passed.

1:30 pm Infosys in soup: With some startups losing money over technical glitches in MCA21 website, the government said it will be looking into the contract given to Infosys for operating the website.

MCA21, used for making electronic filings under the Companies Act, is managed by Infosys for the Corporate Affairs Ministry.

CEO of Niti Aayog, Amitabh Kant, in a series of tweets, said that ''as a service provider Infosys has let down the country.'' Kant also tweeted: ''It appears that the service provider Infosys is the culprit.''

Kant added that the corporate affairs secretary has been asked to take immediate action. However, Infosys informed CNBC-TV18 that initial issues in the MCA21 system, which was upgraded to run on the SAP platform in March-end, have been sorted out already.

The market is continously falling as the Nifty is below 7850. The 50-share is down 55.65 points or 0.7 percent at 7843.65 and the Sensex is down 196.38 points or 0.8 percent at 25641.76. About 959 shares have advanced, 1455 shares declined, and 138 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, TCS, Adani Ports and ICICI Bank are top gainers while Hindalco, NTPC, BHEL, Reliance and Maruti are losers in the Sensex.

Gold prices were up by Rs 89 to Rs 29,110 per 10 grams in futures trade as speculators created positions amid positive cues from the global market.

Analysts said a firming trend in global market amid weakening dollar raising the demand of the precious metal, influenced, influenced the precious metal here in futures trade.

12:58 pm Market Update: The Sensex fell 173.76 points or 0.67 percent to 25664.38 and the Nifty declined 51.05 points or 0.65 percent to 7848.25.

The market breadth remained weak as about 1428 shares declined against 951 advancing shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Hindalco (-3 percent), NTPC (-3 percent), Reliance (-2 percent) and Maruti Suzuki (-2 percent) were the big losers in the Nifty. Other laggards in the index were HDFC (-1 percent), Aurobindo Pharma (-1 percent), BHEL (-2 percent) and Asian Paints (-2 percent).

Gainers included Bharti Airtel (2 percent), Bajaj Auto (1 percent), TCS (1 percent) and BPCL (1 percent).

12:45 pm Europe Opens: European stocks fell following shaky investor sentiment in Asia at the start of a week in which central banks are the focus.

France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down 0.3 percent each.

12:40 pm Modi on Parliament session: As the second half of the Budget session got underway, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hoped that members of all parties will discuss issues in a democratic spirit and take good decisions.

With Opposition, mainly the Congress planning to target the government over imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand, Modi hoped that members will involve themselves in free discussions like the last time and important decisions will be taken.

He noted that the first part of the Budget session was very productive and several important legislations were passed.

"The first part of the Budget session was very productive. All the parties helped in running Parliament smoothly and many important decisions were taken. And the MPs of all parties seemed happy about this. This time too we will discuss issues with similar enthusiasm and as per the tradition of democracy and take good decisions. This is my belief," he said.

12:20 pm Market Expert: Despite a good show in the last couple of months, markets are looking a bit tired, is the word coming from Andrew Holland, Chief Executive Officer of Ambit Investment Advisors.

Although Holland isn't aggressively betting on markets falling, cues from Japan and the US will be closely watched this week.

Holland's fear is that liquidity-driven markets could suddenly get a nasty shock.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Holland says a strengthening dollar has been weakening commodity prices everywhere.

In May, the focus will be on Britain's decision to remain part of the Euro zone, which will play on the markets, feels Holland.

12:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks remained under pressure due to consistent fall in oil & gas, auto, FMCG, metals and healthcare stocks. The broader markets outperformed as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices declined only 0.2 percent compared to half a percent fall in benchmarks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 178.53 points to 25659.61 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 51.20 points to 7848.10. The market breadth was negative as about 873 shares advanced against 1376 declining shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Hindalco and NTPC topped selling list on Sensex, down more than 3 percent.

Asia markets lost ground across the board, with many traders likely taking to the sidelines ahead of several central bank decisions this week. The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.8 percent after flirting with positive territory briefly. Last week, the index added 4.3 percent. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was down 0.12 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was off 0.57 percent.

Chinese mainland markets were lower, with the Shanghai composite shedding 0.5 percent. The US Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) are all set to meet this week.

11:45 am Interview: In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Anand Deshpande, MD and CEO of Persistent Systems said that the deal with IBM contributed 8 percent to its revenue in Q4 and he further expects it to increase to 15-20 percent in fiscal year 2017. Last month, Persistent had tied up with IBM to jointly work on the latter's Internet of Things (IoT) platform. The company reported good earnings in the fourth quarter of FY16. Revenue went up 14.4 percent to Rs 677.1 crore quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and net profit rallied 6.24 percent to Rs 80.8 crore (QoQ). Investments for the IBM deal impacted the company's margin by 220 basis points (bps) in Q4 and a margin pressure of around 200 bps is expected in FY17 due to this deal, Deshpande added.

11:30 am Results poll: Aditya Birla Group Company UltraTech Cement 's fourth quarter bottomline is likely to get impacted by lower realisations but volume may support topline. According to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, standalone profit is likely to fall 2 percent year-on-year to Rs 604 crore. Profitability may be partly aided by lower interest cost. Revenue may increase 3.2 percent to Rs 6,414 crore in January-March quarter compared to Rs 6,213.3 crore in same quarter last year. Analysts say weak realisations may offset part benefit of volume growth. Sales volume increased 7.7 percent year-on-year to 13.1 million tonne from 12.16 million tonne.

The market is spiralling downwards as FMCG, metals, oil & gas and auto stocks are under pressure. The Sensex is down 147.98 points or 0.6 percent at 25690.16, and the Nifty is down 39.75 points or 0.5 percent at 7859.55. About 914 shares have advanced, 1176 shares declined, and 104 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, TCS and SBI are gainers while Hindalco, NTPC, Reliance, Tata Steel and Sun Pharma are losers in the Sensex.

Crude prices fell in Asia following a report saying Saudi Arabia could maintain its total production capacity with the expansion of an oilfield, fuelling fresh concerns about the global supply glut. The losses come after a week of strong gains in the commodity that came on the back of hopes for the outlook of China's economy and speculation about the resumption of talks on limiting output. Saudi Arabian Oil Co will complete an expansion of its Shaybah oilfield by the end of May, allowing the world's largest exporter to maintain total capacity at 12 million barrels a day, reports suggest.

10:59 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks extended losses with the Sensex falling 133.61 points to 25704.53 and the Nifty declining 38 points to 7861.30.

Hindalco (-3 percent), NTPC (-3 percent), Reliance (-2 percent) and Tata Steel (-2 percent) were the big losers in the Nifty. Other laggards in the index were Bank of Baroda (-1 percent),Axis Bank (-1 percent),ITC (-1 percent) and HDFC (-1 percent).

Gainers included Bharti Airtel (3 percent), Bajaj Auto (1 percent), Idea Cellular (1 percent) and Kotak Mahindra (1 percent).

Key Asian markets were trading weak. Singapore's Straits Times was the biggest lower, down 28 points or 1 percent at 2911. China's Shanghai was down 24 points at 2934, Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 126 points at 17446, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 130 points at 21337, and Korea's KOSPI was down 3 points at 2012. Taiwan was the only exception to the downtrend with the Taiwan Index up 9 points at 8545.

10:40 am Earnings Poll: Aditya Birla Group Company UltraTech Cement's fourth quarter bottomline is likely to get impacted by lower realisations but volume may support topline. According to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, standalone profit is likely to fall 2 percent year-on-year to Rs 604 crore. Profitability may be partly aided by lower interest cost.

Revenue may increase 3.2 percent to Rs 6,414 crore in January-March quarter compared to Rs 6,213.3 crore in same quarter last year.

Analysts say weak realisations may offset part benefit of volume growth. Sales volume increased 7.7 percent year-on-year to 13.1 million tonne from 12.16 million tonne.

Realisation is likely hit during the quarter as pan India prices declined 6 percent on yearly basis. East, west and south prices have declined more than 5-7 percent YoY.

10:17 am FII View: Sakthi Siva of Credit Suisse says with May approaching in a week's time, a key question once again for investors is whether to sell in May. According to her, there appears to be two factors that suggest investors should sell in May.

She says one is that MS Asia Ex-Japan has corrected in five of the last six years in May by an average of 3.5 percent and two is that current MS Asia Ex-Japan rally of 18.5 percent from the lows has already exceeded in magnitude three of the last six rallies.

But two other factors that are foreign investors capitulation and if commodity prices are indeed bottoming, it suggests rally could run further, she feels.

"Our year-end target for MS Asia Ex-Japan of 550 offering 6 percent potential upside, suggest investors buy the dips rather than chase the rallies," Siva says.

10:00 am Market Check
The market continued to consolidate for third consecutive session today with the Nifty hovering around 7900 while the broader markets outperformed with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising marginally.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 52.77 points to 25785.37 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 16.50 points to 7882.80 while the market breadth was positive. About 929 shares advanced against 796 declining shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

HDFC, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, NTPC, Tata Steel and Hindalco Industries were top losers on Sensex, down 1-2 percent.

Infosys, TCS, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, SBI and Adani Ports gained 0.8-2 percent.

9:55 am Stock view: Credit Suisse has initiated coverage on TVS Motor with an underperform rating. The brokerage firm has a target of Rs 260 per share, indicating 20 percent downside. It believes that TVS Motor is unlikely to meet street expectations of a 300 basis points margin improvement over the next two years.

Credit Suisse is not very upbeat on the two-wheeler sector. It feels that though a  good monsoon and pick-up in the pace of the economic recovery augurs well for auto volumes, four-wheelers stand to benefit more. "Four-wheelers also have a much higher operating leverage once volumes bounce back," it states in a report.

9:45 am Power play: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should talk to the government over the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme, said Minister of Power and Coal, Piyush Goyal.

RBI, in a recent report contradicting the government, had said the discom scheme will have an adverse impact on the financials of state governments. 

''I do wish they (RBI) would talk to us and we will be able to satisfy them that the UDAY scheme is a win-win for everybody including the states,'' Goyal said.

9:30 am Result: IT player Persistent Systems posted 6.24 percent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 80.80 crore for the quarter ended March 31.

The company had posted net profit after taxes, minority interest and share of profit of associates at Rs 76.05 crore in the year-ago period, Persistent Systems Ltd said in a filing to BSE.

The total income of the company increased to Rs 701.74 crore, over Rs 515.78 crore in the year-ago period, it said.

The market has kick-started the week with mild gains. The Sensex is up 22.17 points at 25860.31, and the Nifty is down 4.50 points at 7894.80. About 357 shares have advanced, 168 shares declined, and 28 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's, SBI and HDFC Bank are top gainers while BHEL, Hero MotoCorp, Lupin, Maruti and ITC are losers.

The Indian rupee slipped in the early trade. It has opened lower by 16 paise at 66.65 per dollar versus 66.49 Friday.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "Rupee is still trading in narrow range. A close below 66.50/dollar on Friday will support the rupee to appreciate towards 66.20/dollar levels."

Yen gained today after weakening the most in 17 months on Friday after a report said the Bank Of Japan is considering expanding its negative rate policy to bank loans and could cut rates further in its policy meet this week.

Asia markets wavered between positive and negative territory on Monday, after major local indexes eked out gains last week.

The Japanese central bank is set to meet and announce its monetary policy decision this week. Oil prices retreated during Asian hours, with US crude futures down 1.21 percent at USD 43.20, while global benchmark Brent fell 0.98 percent at USD 44.67 a barrel.